Hazzard County (play)

Ruth, a young widow has recently been thrown out of her home. She is unable (or unwilling) to access the trust fund set up after her husband's (Michael) death. The story of her husband's murder comes out after meeting Blake, a producer from LA. Blake sees this as the story that will help him break into the bigtime - "The story of a young woman, doing the right thing under impossible circumstances." However the story becomes less clear cut as more information about the murder is revealed. The killers were black, the money in the trust fund may have come from white supremacist groups, and Michael was flying a Confederate flag on his truck the night he was shot. The question is raised - "Whose civil rights were violated first?" as we follow Ruth, her children, and the rest of the cast down a memory lane speckled with stereotypes.

This play is based on a true story.^[1] In 1995, Michael Westerman was shot in his truck near Guthrie, Kentucky. He was, at the time, flying a Confederate flag on the back of his truck. Later, he was declared a martyr by the Sons of Confederate Veterans - "First man to die under the flag in 130 years." When asked about the flag, the shooter responded "I thought it was just the 'Dukes of Hazzard' sign."